Readers sound off on Orange County Government Center

Tuesday

May 1, 2012 at 12:52 PMMay 1, 2012 at 12:59 PM

Special Report: Orange County Government Center

The residents of Orange County are being asked to fund a solution to the Government Center dilemma. Do we renovate or replace? Proposals range from $35 million-$75 million. That's quite a difference. There's nothing about the existing building that can't be corrected at a much lower cost than building a new structure.

The county should move forward with an independent third party to provide a clinical forensic analysis and make appropriate recommendations. This would eliminate the confusion and misinformation associated with this project. The current building is defined as a Class “I” Type “A” structure offering the greatest fire resistance. The proposed new building is of a lower fire rating. It includes a sprinkler system, but has additional costs in bonding to the county.

If the forensic analysis proves feasible, we should renovate the existing building. Removing fundamental flaws and built-in obsolescence can allow us to consolidate our county offices and provide energy efficiency and accessibility.

Orange County legislators have a responsibility to represent citizens and make proper decisions with the facts. If we have been provided the facts and transparency, voters could determine the outcome through a referendum. That's a decision we can live with.

Steve BranderCentral Valley

I read about the proposed new Orange County Government Center and can only offer my concerns for this project.

It would seem to me that any building of this nature would be much better off without flat roofs. Here in the Northeast, these roofs, like our potholed roads, are subject to the ice, snow and cold that will affect them each and every year.

Besides this, the proposed drawing looks just like a new jail in appearance. If that's the “look” these people want, then they can close one of the local prisons and use that building for the Government Center. Anyway, I hope this gets voted down and something more desirable gets proposed.

David WhiteWallkill

The proposal to destroy and rebuild our county Government Center in Goshen calls to my mind a cartoon that I saw, decades ago, in an American newspaper. It showed, side by side, two pictures of school board meetings, one in the USA, the other in the U.K.

In the American one, a speaker is ranting “Our kids' learning is being stifled in these 40-year old classrooms. We must build a new school ..., etc.” In the English picture, a benevolent-looking teacher is saying “Our traditions of academic excellence are wonderfully preserved in our 400-year old school buildings ...”

In America, we do have a some good examples of historic preservation. But still, only too often, other architecturally significant structures have been callously razed. We in Orange County should not join in such desecration.

I urge the residents and voters of Orange County to do all we can to persuade our legislators to preserve our unique Government Center. Studies have shown that overall cost will be less. I believe it's called a “no-brainer.”

Leslie CollinsWarwick

Please, please, county legislators – get rid of this eyesore that has plagued our county for almost 40 years. Because of its innate architectural flaws, it will be in the same disrepair in 10 years and will cost us twice as much to repair it then. All the renovation in the world will not fix its depressing archaic appearance.This ugly monstrosity has been the butt of jokes since its construction. Save us money and restore Goshen to its original historic beauty.

Bill Spanjer Sr.Pine Bush

Submit a letter here.

I'm writing as an angry Orange County citizen. Why do we let County Executive Ed Diana bully his way to a new Government Center?

The cost of just demolishing the current one is $10 million. That's a lot of county services and jobs. Diana would not even meet with the architects who are in the middle of rehabbing a very similar Paul Rudolph building – which was in worse condition with even more deferred maintenance. Diana said to them, “No time; too busy.”

These architects have real, hard figures that were not the pie-in-the-sky scary estimates of Diana's Westchester consultants. I guess he didn't like that.

As an artist of the Orange County Arts Council, I am convinced of the architectural importance of this building. As a builder, I am pleased that there are now new and better roofing methods and new models for totally gutting and modernizing the interior of buildings like this. We need to save tax dollars.

Mr. Diana, at least talk with people who have firsthand experience.

Daniel MackWarwick

So let me make sure I understand this.

Orange County Executive Diana would spend $75 million to build a new county office building. Yet, one estimate for refurbishing the existing structure is $67.2 million. And the rehab of a very similar building at the University of Massachusetts cost $43 million.

But Diana refuses to speak with the architects who worked the UMass project because they've already spoken about it with a county resident.

Now, if your math is right, the alleged affront to Diana's dignity could cost the county $32 million.What's wrong with this picture?

Jeffrey PageWarwick

The OCCC architectural design professor’s carefully worded question to his 1976 sophomore class is remembered by at least one student today. The question: “Do you believe the new county building to be a success”?

The thought-provoking question couldn’t be answered easily, and that was the point, a conundrum. Given the forum, most students answered using complimentary words lauding Paul Rudolph’s Brutalist design. Others, owing to a more conservative nature, responded with the building being out of character.

I held my tongue knowing there wasn’t a correct answer and the professor’s smile during the exchange proved that was exactly the point. Thirty-six years later, the building is still awash in controversy, presenting politicians an embarrassing reminder of a better bygone era.

Whether you like it or not, the confounding building remains as viable as when first built. I caution those who place value on the unique. Once this building is gone, it’s gone forever. When giving directions, you will never again be able to use the words “Take a left on Scotchtown Avenue after you pass the big gray funny-looking county building.”

Those words will disappear from our lexicon and perhaps, too, some elected officials with them.